Introduction
After the success of our Vietnamese coffee custard and Japanese matcha flan, we have another Asian-inspired gelatine dessert for you: a gorgeous pandan jelly with a strawberry layer. It's vegan, gluten-free, sugar-free, and incredibly delicious!
It might seem tricky to make, but with our detailed step-by-step recipe, success is guaranteed. All you need is coconut milk drink, fresh strawberries, pandan essence, and vegan gelatine. Prepare three different jellies, two with green pandan and one with pink strawberry, and then layer them in pudding moulds. Job's done!
Classic gelatine desserts are prepared by dissolving gelatine powder in a liquid base like fruit juices or milk, all sweetened with sugar. The mixture is then heated, poured into a mould, and allowed to harden in the fridge. In our recipe, we swapped collagen-based gelatine with vegan gelatine and replaced sugars with naturally sweet strawberries and coconut milk. This means our pandan jelly is suitable for those on a plant-based or low-carb diet.
Pandan is a tropical plant whose leaves are used in Malay and Indonesian cuisines to prepare savoury dishes, cakes, and drinks. They can be turned into a powder or juiced into a dark green extract. Just a few drops are enough to give a lovely flavour and a bright green colour to any recipe. If you've never tried pandan before, we're sure you'll love its sweet and floral taste.
You can find pandan extract in Asian food stores as a paste-like essence. Some brands have only pandan leaves and water as ingredients, while others also include additives like starch, sweeteners, and food colourings. In this recipe, we found that as little as half a teaspoon is enough to give a brilliant green hue to the jellies and infuse them with a grassy, nutty, and vanilla-like flavour.
What's great about this pandan dessert is that it's also low in fats and calories. One serving has only 47 calories and covers 4% RDI of sugars and 3% RDI of fats. Sweet! So, get your apron on, and let's get started!